J.J. - The Life and Times of a Rugby Legend

The schoolboy sprint champion of Great Britain, J.J. wasted no time harnessing that searing pace to his innate footballing skills. It propelled him beyond merely winning Grand Slams for his country to a starring role in the most successful tour ever undertaken by the best of Britain of Ireland.

As a Lion during the invincible trek round South Africa in 1974, J.J. accomplished an incredible feat when he scored four tries in the four-Test series and earned the undying admiration of the Republic’s political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, who was then incarcerated on Robben Island.

Yet no sooner had J.J. been feted the length and breadth of Wales than he began falling foul of Rugby Union’s archaic laws on amateurism. No matter how ludicrous it may sound now, the Welsh Rugby Union threatened to ban him twice at the height of his career.

In this book J.J. reveals all, from his own controversial and outstanding career, his views on the present state of rugby and the pain he and his family went through when his son, Rhys, was banned from the Commonwealth Games in 2014.